Giving AI Agents Safe Access to Your Data: SQL MCP Server with Jerry Nixon

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This episode of The Modern .NET Show is supported, in part, by RJJ Software's Strategic Technology Consultation Services. If you're an SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) leader wondering why your technology investments aren't delivering, or you're facing critical decisions about AI, modernization, or team productivity, let's talk.

Show Notes

"In the agentic world that makes a lot of people really uncomfortable because what ends up happening is the agent has it, the agent has its own ID and then interacts with your data database."— Jerry Nixon

Hey everyone, and welcome back to The Modern .NET Show; the premier .NET podcast, focusing entirely on the knowledge, tools, and frameworks that all .NET developers should have in their toolbox. I'm your host Jamie Taylor, bringing you conversations with the brightest minds in the .NET ecosystem.

Today, Jerry Nixon returned to the show to talk about SQL MCP Server, something of a new product _and_ the evolution of Data API Builder; which we talked to Jerry about back in episode three of this season (there'll be a link in the show notes). Jerry does a much better job of introducing it than I can, but suffice it to say that SQL MCP Server is an MCP Server which abstracts away intracting with a SQL database... of almost any flavour. SQL Server, CosmosDB, Postgres, you name it.

"I mean there is nothing better for any agent than saying "new session." That is how you like create better answers all the time. You might feel like you have this session, you've been training it so long and you've told it so much, it has so much context that now when you ask it, it'll finally have the answer that you're looking for."— Jerry Nixon

Along the way, Jerry shared a lot of solid gold nuggets of advice about MCP servers, best practices for interacting with agents and models, and even context management. And, of course, we talk about how simple is almost always the best solution (and how SQL MCP Server might be one of the ways for you to achieve that).

Before we jump in, a quick reminder: if The Modern .NET Show has become part of your learning journey, please consider supporting us through Patreon or Buy Me A Coffee. Every contribution helps us continue bringing you these in-depth conversations with industry experts. You'll find all the links in the show notes.

So let's sit back, open up a terminal, type in `dotnet new podcast` and we'll dive into the core of Modern .NET.

Full Show Notes

The full show notes, including links to some of the things we discussed and a full transcription of this episode, can be found at: https://dotnetcore.show/season-8/giving-ai-agents-safe-access-to-your-data-sql-mcp-server-with-jerry-nixon/

Useful Links:

• Data API Builder & SQL MCP Serverdocumentation
• Data API Builder on GitHub
• Book time with Jerry to discuss SQL MCP an your projects
• Agentic Design Patterns by Antonia Gulli

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• Buy the show a coffee
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Music created by Mono Memory Music, licensed to RJJ Software for use in The Modern .NET Show.

Editing and post-production services for this episode were provided by MB Podcast Services.